Alumni attend grad school in Nebraska

photo courtesy of Colin Truhe Colin Truhe finishes the first year of grad school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he is pursuing a master’s in higher education administration.

photo courtesy of Nate Lorenzen Nate Lorenzen finishes the first year of grad school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he is pursuing a master’s in intercollegiate athletic administration.

Alumni attend graduate school at NEBRASKA

After years of late nights spent studying for undergraduate classes, some college students decide to go on and further their education at a graduate school.

Under normal circumstances, graduate school is where students learn more in depth about their specialized discipline. Although that aspect remains true in 2021, things can be a little more complicated during a pandemic.

One of Washburn’s mass media alumni, Nate Lorenzen, is part of the Intercollegiate Athletic Administration program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Lorenzen described his initial feelings about being online.

“It was weird because I felt like I was in a twilight zone,” said Lorenzen. “I was just doing the same thing every single day.”

Colin Truhe, another Washburn mass media alumnus attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is part of the Higher Education Administration program there. Truhe explained his concern about the possibility of attending graduate school remotely.

“I’m very much an in-person learner,” said Truhe. “I hate Zoom classes and online classes. It’s just not my forte.”

With each of their programs having small cohorts, both Truhe and Lorenzen attend in-person class sessions this semester. Though most of his classes have been face-to-face, Lorenzen thinks the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted his education.

“[It’s impacted] the sense of a true classroom experience,” said Lorenzen. “I haven’t [been] able to do a lot of group projects because [we must] stay socially distanced.”

Truhe has had a similar experience while attending his classes.

“We really haven’t gotten to do any community building because people can’t really hang out outside of class,” said Truhe. “You show up and then leave because you’re not supposed [to] interact with people.”

Although this semester has been anything but normal, Lorenzen and Truhe find ways to stay motivated.

Lorenzen works as a community relations graduate assistant for the athletics department at Nebraska.

“This time last year, I never thought I’d be in graduate school. I didn’t like school that much to begin with,” said Lorenzen.“But now, I have my niche and I know what I want to do for my career and how necessary it is for me to perform well in school.”

Truhe accepted a graduate assistantship, helping with undergraduate recruitment at Nebraska-Lincoln.

“I really enjoy what I do,” said Truhe. “For me, it’s just exciting. Since I’m doing that, it’s motivating me to finish my programs.”

Graduate school may not be for everyone, but if you have even the slightest interest, you should try it out.

“Do it now 100% because you won’t want to do it later on,” said Lorenzen. “If you’re on the fence about it now and you do it, you can always say, ‘I didn’t like that,’ and move on.”

Departments such as mass media at Washburn help to prepare students for their futures.

“Washburn was huge in my development of grad school. It’s more project based,” said Lorenzen. “I think that they did a great job of preparing me and pushing me toward the right direction.”